Buyers Drive Hard Bargains in a Tough Market
Unrealistic buyers are ruining the deal for sellers who are unwilling to make extreme concessions, some real estate practitioners complain.
”We see buyers who must have learned their moves from the World Wrestling Federation,” says Glenn Kelman, CEO of the online brokerage Redfin. ”They think the final smack-down occurs at the inspection, where the seller will be reluctant to refuse any demand because the alternative is putting the house back on the market as damaged goods.”
But buyers say they’re simply being smart.
”We had the position, ‘If the seller is willing to come down enough, we will buy this home.’ If they weren’t willing, we would have just moved on. In this market, you have a lot of options,” says Chris Dunn, a consultant in Chicago, who sought a 10 percent reduction on a property priced at more than $500,000.
Source: The New York Times, David Streitfeld (06/17/2010)
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Bargains Hard to Find In Attractive Areas
Potential buyers in areas that were hard hit by the housing downturn have read about bargains, but only find it disappointing when they go shopping.
“Every open house I’ve been to has been a zoo,” says first-time home buyer Sam Rivero, who has looked at 35 properties during the last three months. “If you follow what the media say, you’d think sellers are desperate to sell a house, but when you get there it’s totally the opposite.”
When the real estate bubble burst, it didn’t affect the mid-priced market, said real estate information firm MDA DataQuick. Instead, it created opportunities in troubled neighborhoods and slowed sales in the market of homes priced above $1 million. But in areas where most of the homes sell for $400,000 to $800,000, there are few discounts to be found.
Even the foreclosure market has slowed, says University of Southern California Professor of Real Estate Tracey Seslen. Seslen said lenders with foreclosures are supporting market stabilization and releasing only a few homes at a time to avoid flooding the markets.
“The biggest problem,” says Phyllis Harb, an associate with RE/Max Tri City in La Canada, Calif., “is that people are overreacting to housing statistics, thinking they can come in and make an offer 20 percent below price.”
Source: Los Angeles Times, Chip Jacobs (05/03/2009)
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